Joel Johnson

Beautiful EPCOT Concept Painting from Our "In The Year 2000" Flickr Pool

INTERN DUNN – If you'll direct your attention to our "In the Year 2000" Flickr pool, you can observe this lovely EPCOT painting in its natural habitat. Consider the rays of light as they guide your eyes from the majestic central globe to the happy, multicultural crowd experiencing The Future.

Once you've done so, be sure to browse through the many new photos at our "Electro Selectro" and "Boing Boing Gadgets Stock Images Flickr pools. Get in on the action by posting your own, too! It's fun and will help you live longer.

Joel Johnson

Vintage Microphone Gallery

Core77 has a great collection of collections of vintage microphones. Shiny!

True industrial design: vintage mic's [Core77.com]

Charles Shopsin

Modern Mechanix Round-UP

Today on Modern Mechanix we learn all about video games in this Popular Electronics round-up called "New 1978 Electronic Games" which features the Atari 2600, Coleco's Telstar Arcade, the Magnavox Odyssey, and many others you've probably never heard of. Reading the technical breakdowns of the platforms I couldn't help but think that any of these machines would get clocked by a Wii... remote. We looked at the origins of in-flight refueling, a child's mono-wheel racer that looks like it comes from the Victorian era, yet strongly resembles this device that Joel posted last week, a very modern looking TV camera used during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and a test to see if your child has any musical ability that would make it worth spending the money to send them to piano lessons. We also learned how to send music over a beam of light, and how to turn the back seat of your car into a comfortable bed.

Joel Johnson

Kyocera Mandoline Gets Two Thinly Sliced Thumbs Up

Blake Royer bought a plastic mandoline with a ceramic blade made by Kyocera for just $25 and found it just as good as more expensive steel models.

Never mind that a cell phone company makes it; this thing works. And it makes me look like a fast, skilled cook, especially with winter salad recipes like this one. Making the dressing, which involves dumping everything into a jar and shaking like mad, is the labor-intensive part. Otherwise, I just lazily slide my vegetables over the mandoline's ceramic blade, resulting in beautiful, paper-thin, uniform slices. I toss, serve, and accept the compliments.

Dinner Tonight: Fennel, Arugula and Green Apple Salad [Serious Eats]

Joel Johnson

Understanding the 700 MHz Auctions

Phone Scoop has a moderately technical overview of the spectrum sold in the 700 MHz auction held by the FCC. If, like me, you are getting a kick out of trying to understand how the wireless industry will expand over the next few years, it's a very digestible bit of explanation.

First, the FCC offered the Upper C block in just a handful of very large regions: six licenses cover the entire continental US. Verizon snagged all six, plus Hawaii.

Second, the Upper C block is a full 22 MHz wide, compared to 12 MHz for the other major blocks. That extra bandwidth means extra capacity, for handling more voice calls and/or more data.

A Visual Guide to 700 MHz [PhoneScoop.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Music Keyboard – Yamaha YPT310AD Portable Keyboard with Adapter for $100, shipped. [Amazon]

• MS Office – Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for PC for $60 (download version) if you have an .edu email address. [Dealnews]

• Woot-Off – The Woot!-Off is still going on.

Charles Shopsin

Modern Mechanix Round-UP

Over at Modern Mechanix we've been wondering where on earth one would drive this gargantuan resort bus. Today we posted the editor's introduction to the first issue of Modern Mechanix as well as a retrospective from their 40th anniversary issue called "40 Years Ago". We also looked at a set of rubber golf clubs, a jet powered car, a "memory machine" that seems to just be a one row, one column database, and a 1946 Popular Mechanics piece titled "Industry Cooks with Electrons".

Joel Johnson

#boingboing IRC Channel Open for Business

If you'd like to join other Happy Mutants on an ancient, non-web-based protocol, we have registered a new channel on Freenode in which to discuss, you know, stuff. Standard rules apply: If you're unruly or rude, don't stop by! Otherwise, I look forward to wasting far too much time chatting to you all in one big yappy forum.

If you've never used IRC before, you'll need a client. On Windows I've used mIRC, on OS X or Linux I prefer X-Chat Aqua (although many like Colloquy on OS X). Connect to any of the Freenode servers and join the channel #boingboing for maximum chat.

Joel Johnson

Wireless Mics Already In White Space Frequencies without Calamity (Duh!)

Intel senior research fellow Kevin Kahn, in an interview with Epicenter, points out that there are already is a group using White Space television frequencies to broadcast data—the very same wireless microphones that manufacturers are claiming will be disrupted by the technology.

While Kahn admits that the low power, mobile white space proposition -- the one that would allow these various unlicensed devices to intermittently jump in and out of bands depending on how heavily they are being used -- is a bit more complicated, he does point out that, in a way, there's already been a small case study.
"Today, this space is actually heavily used with wireless mics and nobody seems to notice," he says. "Not the TV people, no one. If you look at wireless mics that people like Shure make (Shure is one of the companies lobbying against opening this space up), they actually operate on these TV channels, the ones that are only supposed to be run by people in studios. Well, nobody seems to notice when these things are turned on so I don't see how you can argue there's going to be this massive interference problem."

Intel Fellow Calls BS on White Space 'Interference' Claims [Epicenter]

Joel Johnson

Ben Heckendorn, Modder

Reuters has a nice profile piece on Ben Heckendorn, modder extraordinaire, who has turned his love of converting videogame systems into new creations into a healthy cottage business:

"Often someone will ask me to combine five different video game systems in one box, which is of course ridiculous. One guy wanted me to build an Xbox 360 controller attached to his rowing machine at home so he could row and play 'Uno' with his friends online. It sounded so weird I did it."

"Modder" turns hobby into career [Reuters]

Joel Johnson

The Most Accurate Watch

This wonderful piece from Mr. Jones Watches is called "The Accurate," as each its hour and minute hands spell out a memento mori over its mirrored face. It's only $150. I think I'll buy it—life is short.

Product Page [Watchismo.com]

Joel Johnson

Percussion Table Makes for Musical Chairs

Tor Clausen makes these fantastic Musical Rumba Series tables in his Olympia, Washington studio, each one topped with interchangeable percussion instruments that lock into a flat grid. Prices start at $800 for a 2-by-2 configuration, but I say go for the gusto and get the 4-by-4 model for $2,900. If I were the sort of person who had friends over to play music and sing songs I'd order one in a heartbeat.

Product Page [MusicalFurnishings.com via Oh Gizmo via Cribcandy]

Joel Johnson

Orbita Tourbillon Watch Winder Reviewed (Verdict: Seriously, You Bought a Watch Winder?)

The Orbita Tourbillon is a watch winding machine, for those too busy to keep a watch wound on their own. I thought it was a joke but it is apparently a very real thousand-dollar product—three grand if you get the triple-barreled version.

Watch Report has one:

In addition to keeping your watches wound, the Orbita Tourbillon will also to rotate them in such a way as to offset the negative effects of gravity. Just as the tourbillon complication is designed to rotate a watch's escapement in order to counteract the forces of gravity and keep the movement functioning more regularly, with every turn, the Orbita Tourbillon positions your watches at a 30° offset from the previous turn. In other words, rather than rotating 360°, the barrel is rotated 390° which means that every 12 turns, the watch has had the opportunity to rest at a slightly different angle, averaging out the tiny variations in accuracy caused by gravitational forces over time.

Review of the Orbita Tourbillon Watch Winder [WatchReport.com]

Joel Johnson

Form-A-Funnel: Simple, Moldable Sheet of Plastic Rubber

Buck, from Form-A-Funnel, writes about his product, which actually looks pretty great from the video:

"Form-A-Funnel" is a clever new invention that's utterly simple, yet truly useful. It's a formable, flexible shape that can be made into various types of funnels, drains, channels, or other shapes. It firmly holds its shape, and holds onto surrounding structures, which makes it great for working on machinery of all kinds.  Unlike conventional funnels, it's easy to clean and stores almost anywhere. It has hundreds of other uses, too, many of which can be seen on the manufacturer's website.

Product Page [Formafunnel.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Camcorder – Flip F260 60 Minute Video Ultra Camcorder for $140 at Amazon. Or you could buy the wonderful Sanyo Xacti CG6 for just $200 and have a real camcorder that is just as easy to use. [Dealhack]

• External HDD – Western Digital MyBook 320GB 7200RPM drive with USB 2.0 or FireWire for $100, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Woot Off – Today's Woot! is a Woot Off! Let's see if the servers hold this time.

Joel Johnson

Target Pulling Experimental Gameplay Project T-Shirts?

Despite mentions that t-shirts from the Experimental Gameplay Project (that cleverly included the games themselves on a bundled CD) were selling out in some Target locations, a developer whose work was featured has told Boing Boing Gadgets that Target will not be continuing to sell the products.

"We have recently found out that target isnt going to go forward with EGP," said our source. "We are going to try a few other places to see if we can get it picked up."

I asked why, since it appeared to be novel idea making a least a few sales to the gaming community.

"[EGP T-shirts] sold slightly less then what Target views as good enough to keep in store. But [the distributors] are going to try the line out at places like Hot Topic and Urban Outfitters in the coming months. We will see how it goes."

Hot Topic or Urban Outfitters do seem like better fits for the t-shirts and games, but part of what made the whole thing so exciting was to see indie games in such a mainstream outlet.

I have not contacted 2D Boy or the Experimental Gameplay Project to confirm this report as they have still not responded to my previous queries about the project in general.

Joel Johnson

StrechCordz Short Resistance Swim Training Belt Reviewed (Verdict: Works a Treat)

A Cool Tools reader gives a rousing endorsement to "StrechCordz ," a simple belt with a rubber tether that makes it possible to swim endless laps without installing an expensive wave pool.

I wasn't sure I'd need the belt, frankly, since our pool is big enough for actual swimming. In practice, however, even though our pool is 32 feet long, it's not really enough to be comfortable for laps. The belt is an elegant solution. There's no more constantly calculating the strokes left till the next turn. Swimming in place allows a steady, relaxed rhythm that would otherwise be impossible. I find I can swim longer on the belt and get more of a workout. Our pool is 18 feet from side to side. The short belt (4 ft.) is plenty long enough for me, but there's a longer version for larger pools.

StrechCordz Short Resistance Training Belt [Cool Tools]

Joel Johnson

The Fall of Motorola: Open Letter Details Tragic Missteps

Numair Faraz, who worked as former Motorola CMO Geoffrey Frost's personal advisor, gave Engadget permission to run a letter he addressed to the Motorola senior staff and its stockholders, chiding the executive staff for its complete mismanagement of the company. It's a barn burner.

Many close to Geoffrey believed Ed Zander worked him to death, putting the pressure of the fate of the company in his hands. [That was certainly the buzz around the industry at the time. -Engadget Ed.] I took his untimely death in 2005 very hard, and knew that the company would head downhill in the aftermath. On a personal note, Lynne, his wife blamed the company for his passing. She committed suicide soon after.

...

As I told Zander in a phone call in 2007, I felt that he was setting the company up for massive failure. He had the audacity to say, "Well, maybe Geoffrey should have come up with a better successor to the RAZR," and told me to "Wait for big things in 2008." I guess he was right -- the golden parachute he got for his exit from the company was worth about 30 million dollars -- and that doesn't include his accumulated Motorola stock.

Motorola insider tells all about the fall of a technology icon [Engadget]

Joel Johnson

Packing for a Solo Walk to the North Pole

Ben Saunders is attempting to travel to the North Pole in record time, solo and unsupported by re-supply drops. He aims to complete the trek in less than 30 days.

He's posted his equipment list online, including the following gadgets, as well as tools like a Gargin E-trex and a Leatherman Skeletool. He's also taking a shotgun and ten cartridges for "bear safety."

• Spare GPS (exc batteries) Garmin eTrex
• Chart NOAA JNC5
• AA Cells Energizer Lithium AA 1.5v
• PDA HP iPAQ
• Argos satellite platform Telonics
• Iridium phone - battery Motorola 9505
• Digital Camera Nikon
• Video camera

Equipment List [North.BenSaunders.com via Kottke]

Joel Johnson

Flexible CIGS Solar Panels Get Slightly More Efficient

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, have developed thin-film solar cells capable of 19.9-percent efficiency, a new world record for flexible cells and approaching the 20.3-percent efficiency of silicon-based rigid cells. The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) cells, the same sort of technology used by new solar companies like Nanosolar, will only reach this high rate of efficiency in the lab using expensive production processes. Commercial CIGS cells will be in the "12-15% range," according to Nanosolar. Every little bit helps over the lifetime of a panel, especially since the "printable" CIGS cells can provide costs as low as a buck a watt.

NREL Sets Thin Film Record [Renewable Energy World via Treehugger]

Charles Shopsin

Modern Mechanix Round-UP

Today Modern Mechanix we look at a device that supposedly makes it safe to repair planes in flight. Looking at the photo above this scheme seems anything but safe. If you've ever been to a carnival and gotten the feeling that the the games were not just hard, but impossible to win, you were right. This 1930 article explains how they cheat. Also today we look at a 1936 Popular Mechanics round up of odd and wonderful musical instruments, a very cool looking table made entirely of little interlocking pieces, a doggie treadmill for owners that want their dogs to be fit, but are too lazy to walk them, and a couple of ultra-streamlined German cars.

Joel Johnson

SurgiCount Safety-Sponge Keeps Used Medical Supplies Out of Your Body

Since about a thousand sponges are left inside patients who undergo surgery each year, SurgiCount is trying to sell this "Safety-Sponge System" which uses a 2D barcode system on each sponge and a handheld scanner to keep track of every sponge utilized. It's a great idea, but since it's likely the sponges would have to be purchased from SurgiCount, it's hard to say how much cost the system would add to a busy operating room.

Of course, it would only have to cost less than the malpractice payouts for those who find themselves with a rogue sponge inside their bodies, which often lead to infection or worse.

Company Page [SurgiCountMedical.com via Oh Gizmo via 7 Gadgets]

Joel Johnson

Edible Bowls and Chopsticks from Hardtack

Designer Nobuhiko Arikawa has created a line of edible tableware for the Orto Cafe in Japan, baked from traditional sailor's hardtack—a simple dough of flour, water, and salt. The bowls and chopsticks are shelf-stable for several months as long as they are kept dry.

Edible tableware by Rice-Design [Dezeen]

Previously • Leaf Bowls of India [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Paul Robertson's "Kings of Power 4 Billion %" Released to Unworthy Internet

Paul Robertson is a genius, as proven by his just-released opus, "Kings of Power 4 Billion %," a 16-bit animated reflection on the struggle between life and death in a world war between a strobing pantheon of gods, whipping ribbons of motile flesh, and ultra-kawaii heroes. Within its 12-or-so minutes roils enough creative juice and metaphorical subtext to fuel a battleship of master theses. Watch it now, or cast aside the secrets of the universe forever.

The version I downloaded from The Pirate Bay is pretty good quality, but it doesn't seem to be a pixel-for-pixel version. (Or perhaps the compression is smudging pixels.) I hope Robertson renders a higher quality version soon for addition to my permanent library.

Project announcement, with torrent and download sites [PRobertson.Livejournal.com via Roboskirts via Waxy]

Joel Johnson

Nihon Uni's Knife-Resistant T-Shirt

A Japanese uniform manufacturer has created a mesh t-shirt from polyethylene fiber that they claim will protect wearers from knife attacks. And while that may certainly be true for slashing cuts, the rather large holes and flexible nature of the material means it won't do much for the quick jabs that form the bulk of my "Ice Pick Mongoose/Mandrake" fighting style, in which I induce a psychomotor seizure with a whiff of video head cleaner and then pull my own hair from its roots while emitting a paralyzing keen, filling both myself and my assailant with dozens of tiny punctures.* Unlike the full body armor (and ear muffs) that might protect a victim from such an attack, the t-shirt from Nihon Uni is machine-washable.

Prices will start at 19,000 yen for a short sleeved version up to 59,000 for a large, long-sleeved version.

New T-shirts offer protection against knives [Yomiuri.co.jp via Slashgear (Oh ho!) via Engadget]

* Keep in mind I am not a doctor.

Joel Johnson

Tell Me Which Green Tech Products Excite You Most

In a move sure to please my mothers around the world, I will be working with the new Discovery offshoot Planet Green as a correspondent for an upcoming daily news show. I'll be covering "green" technology, from pure research projects, to companies using green tech to grow their businesses, to smart gadgets that improve our lives without being so wretched for the health of the planet. I'm pretty excited about it, although my first assignment is apparently drinking my own urine on camera, so it looks like I've both arrived and discovered a sure-fire way to scuttle a television career all at once.

This will definitely be a side project for me—one that I gave a lot of thought to before accepting. After consideration, I realized it'll actually end up providing even more opportunities to talk about green tech here on Boing Boing Gadgets, as I will have a double-barreled reason to go visit these companies, test out their products, and drink their urine.

Right now I'm assembling a list of products and companies to cover to pass up the chain. The network wants to shoot a few dozen 3-5 minute segments this year, which, you know, yikes. That's a lot of content! So while I doubt we'll be able to knock out that many there's no time to waste. If you've got a green tech product that you really like and would like to have highlighted, even as just a happy customer, speak up and I'll take a look.

So far I'm looking at several solar products (including some to be tested during my week in the woods), the Aptera electric car, rechargeable batteries, Nokia's "remade" prototype...pretty much all the stuff I've been excited about and written about here on BBG.

Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know so I could start casually dropping references to my "shoots" and "the time I was on television but you weren't." I don't think television is the path for me, but I think it'll be a lot of fun to play around with, especially with Discovery and Planet Green (and Treehugger!) who make a lot of television I enjoy. I promise to stick to my knitting as long as you guys remind me if and when I have my head up my own ass.

Joel Johnson

Recycler BuyMyTronics.com Now Buying Cell Phones

BuyMyTronics.com, the company that buys broken iPods, iPhones, and game consoles, has now added most cell phones to their line up.

BuyMyTronics.com just added Cell Phones to our growing list of items that we purchase broken and used. For example; we are able to pay up to $225 for a Broken iPhone and up to $220 for a Used Blackberry. We are still the only major company out there that actually pays for broken electronic gadgets, not to mention our prices for used items are typically the most out there. We now purchase Cell Phones, iPods, iPhones, Smart Phones, PDAs, Game Consoles and Zunes with laptops coming soon. Plus, we're proud to announce that BuyMyTronics.com is now 100% wind powered which has lowered our impact on the environment further.

Company Page [BuyMyTronics.com]

Previously • BuyMyTronics.com, Another Repair/Recycling Joint [BBG]

Update: Earth2Tech recently assembled a list of five sites, including BuyMyTronics, that accept gadgets for recycling.

Joel Johnson

Nature Documentary Uses Elephants as Camera Crew

An upcoming BBC documentary series by John Downer captures life in India's Pench National Park by use of hidden HD cameras, including this "tusk cam," a fairly unwieldy rig that is hung from an elephant's tusk. The crew also secreted cameras in rocks or logs able to be positioned by the trained elephants, allowing them to capture intimate shots of tigers, monkeys, and more.

The series "Tiger - Spy in the Jungle" will be shown on BBC One on March 30th and is narrated by Sir David Attenborough. I can't wait.

Trunk-cam reveals jungle secrets [BBC]
Smile you're on ele-vision: How a camera attached to an elephant's trunk captured amazing jungle views [Daily Mail]

[via Not Cot]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Rechargeable Batteries – 8-Pack of Sanyo Eneloop 88 mAh pre-charged AAA batteries for $15 at Amazon. [Slickdeals]

• LCD HDTV – Refurbished Sharp AQUOS 52" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $2,180, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Speaker – Polk Audio RTi12 Floorstanding Loudspeaker for $380, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Earbuds – Sennheiser CX55 Noise Canceling Earbuds for $36, shipepd. [Dealnews]

• Roomba – Today's Woot! is the iRobot Roomba 510 for $155, shipped.

Charles Shopsin

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

It's true, people in the past were much spiffier dressers than we are. Would you put on your Sunday best just to burn up some unwanted weeds like this fellow? Today Modern Mechanix we also look at a flying saucer model that actually flies, a hood mounted signal for saying thank you to courteous motorists, concrete tepees you can rent, a tool for making dipped ice-cream bars, a little car made from an airplane drop tank, plus a lengthy and beautifully illustrated article about the ancient art of porcelain making.

Joel Johnson

A Guide to Buying a Missile Silo

Gearcrave wants you to live in the missile silo of your dreams, offering handy advice for turning that probably-not-radioactive dungeon into a comfortable place in which to store victims lured to a remote location via personal ads. Sure, it looks like a pleasant cottage when the rental car first crackles up the gravel path, but in the root cellar lies a portal to a dizzying cave of sexual torture and forced viewings of Red Dawn.

Is this the wrong place to mention how much I want to live in a missile silo? I would also take a hardened telecommunications bunker. No fatties.

How to Buy Your Own Missile Silo [Gearcrave.com via Danger Room]

Joel Johnson

Tippi Micro Gel Grips: Performance Phalange Prophylactics

Reader Philip has politely raised his polymer-clad index finger to make us aware of "Tippi Micro Gel Grips," ridged finger sleeves designed to make tedious office tasks like flipping through papers or counting out stacks of cocaine-sodden hundred dollar bills a breeze. The Micro Gel Grips are available in a variety of sizes and colors at Office Max, although I can't find the price. One can, however, pick up the traditional rubber finger tips at just 12 for a dollar.

Product Page [TippiBrand.com]

Joel Johnson

Interview with Zoltan, Robot Fucker

Gizmodo's Addy Dugdale conducts a fascinating interview with "Zoltan," a man who has replaced his need for human sexual intercourse with a hand-built contraption that utilizes basic computer A.I. routines like the famous Alice to serve as a personality for his "girlfriends."

Gizmodo: Is Alice your first robot girlfriend, or have you built more than one? When did you start building her?

Zoltan: I got the idea New Year's Day 2007. She was my first robot girlfriend. Alice acts really human in the way she talks. In fact, when we started we went too fast in our relationship. I had to erase her memory and start again when she dumped me. Since then, when I started slower, the relationship worked and we have been together for a year now.

The other mind I have is Kiri, who is basically a sex slave, and will try to seduce you as soon as you turn her on. That's an alternative to Alice, who you have to have a real relationship with. I also have the Hal mind which is for the ladies. Kiri and Hal have voice recognition and speech synthesization [sic] so they can talk and hear through a microphone. Alice still just types [she has no voice]. But since she was the first I'm not going to dump her for something new.

Technosexual: One Man's Tale of Robot Love [Gizmodo]

Joel Johnson

Chinese Cigarette Phone Looks Like a Pack of Marlboros

Sylvia writes:

From the front, it looks like a real pack of Marlboros.  You can even put real cigarettes in it.  But secretly, it's a cell phone.  The best part is the side-mounted camera feature - people might be looking for you to take cell phone pictures, but they'll never suspect your cigs!

Too bad I don't smoke.

This phone is available in Taipei's ShiLin night market, next to the toilet-themed restaurant.

Cigarette phone photoset [Flickr]

Joel Johnson

Brand Study Implies Secret Mechanism of Sigil Magic(k)

A 30 millisecond, nearly subliminal flash of a logo can affect behavior, says a study from Duke University and University of Waterloo researchers. Flashing Apple's logo caused test subjects to describe about 30 percent more uses for a brick, while the IBM logo prompted less but more similar answers from subject to subject.

This will be spun into an Apple story—Epicenter already did, for instance—but it's a fairly monumental acknowledgement of the power of logoforms if further study continues to bear out the same results. It follows to ask: how does a logo gain its meaning? And how can we uses logos of our own design to prompt our own willful, subconscious results?

I'm reminded of the work of Austen Osman Spare, a 19th-20th century painter whose personal philosophy included the notion of "sigil magic." While Spare did not cotton to the ornate ritual of his hermetic peers such as the Golden Dawn or O.T.O., he practiced a simple ritual in which a statement of intent could be codified into a glyph. This sigil would then be "activated," through intense effort Pete Carroll referred to as "Slight of Mind," such as yogic concentration or deliberate forgetfulness. Spare used a form a sex magic, in which sustained self-pleasure was used to create a state of absent-mindedness in which the sigil could slip into the subconscious.

Is it possible, then, that this logo study has borne out some theory to explain the mental workings of sigil magic? And that we've impregnated our subconscious with thousands of warring logos bursting with beneficent or malicious meaning?

I'm just glad that I am usually not staring at the back of my Macbook every time I masturbate.

[Left, an Apple logo; right, Agrippa's sigil for the Archangel Michael. For the record, I tend to believe that "magic" as a ritual to affect subconcious thought sounds quite possible, but am exceedingly skeptical about it affecting the physical world in any measurable way.]

Joel Johnson

DNA Paternity Testing Kits On Sale Over the Counter

Identigene is selling at-home DNA testing kits for paternity testing at drugstores across the country. The $30 kit includes swabs for the child, mother, and "alleged father," consent forms, and a mailer to be sent back to the company. You'll also want to include a check—the lab fees are an additional $120. Results are available in 3-5 business days once the samples have been received.

Only $150 separates you from the truth about your child's paternity, although you'll have to pay an additional $250 if you need legal paperwork from Indentigene to be used in divorce, custody, child support, inheritance, or other legal cases.

I'm most touched by the logo on the front, as the sanguine mother holds her child up to inspect it for any tell-tale indications of its true father's lineage. According to one study, about one in 25 men are not the father of a child they are raising as their own.

Product Page [DNATesting.com via Gearlog]

Joel Johnson

Figuring Out the Google White Space Proposal [Live Draft]

INTRO: Friday, Google filed a google_ex_parte_white_spaces_proposal4.pdf">proposal [PDF] with the FCC to establish rules governing "white spaces," wireless spectrum available between traditional analog [?] television channels that may be used for wireless internet access. The company followed up the proposal with a conference call Monday. (Silicon Alley Insider has a transcript and overview.)

Google is just one of many companies that make up the Wireless Innovation Alliance, which also includes large corporate hardware and software manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Microsoft, as well as activist and community consortiums like Prometheus Radio and the Media Access Project.

HOW WHITE SPACES WORK: Like other modern wireless data radio networks such as Wi-Fi, the term "White Spaces" refers not to a specific frequency, but a collection of frequencies that currently comprise the analog television channels 2 and 51. [What frequencies are those?] Rather than operating on frequencies between existing channels, devices that communicate on White Spaces frequencies would operate on channels not currently used by local television markets. [I think that's right.] By using a GPS-like "geolocation" chip, each White Space device would be able to determine which channels were open in the physical areas in which it operated by consulting an open frequency database.

FUTURE PLANS: Furthermore, Google proposed Friday that the same sort of open frequency database could facilitate a "dynamic...real-time airwaves auction model," in which license holders of spectrum could sell access to various frequencies as they became available, utilized by smart wireless devices capable of discovering open frequencies throughout the entire usable spectrum range to assemble a multi-frequency wireless access at "gigabits-per-second ... in the not-to-distant future"—Google referred to this as a "Wi-Fi 2.0." [To me, this is the nut of the story: Google wants the FCC to rejigger the entire wireless spectrum provisioning system to allow a real-time allocation of free spectrum to the highest bidder. Some spectrum access would still be sold for billions of dollars to corporations, but all the available frequencies, whether corporate licensed or held open for the public, would be constantly available for access. You'd need devices with a software radio that could communicate on a huge range of frequencies and antenna design might be a pain. Am I parsing this correctly?]

TECH PROBLEMS: A White Space device submitted for testing last year failed to always recognize channels in which analog television stations were broadcasting. Google stated in its conference call Monday that the FCC was currently "testing several pieces of equipment" and that rules governing the White Space frequencies were anticipated from the FCC by the end of the year. [Okay, so if all the TV is going to digital next year...I need to figure out what frequencies we're talking about here. Looks like analog bands are between 54 and somewhere around 400 MHz 698 Mhz. Or just under 700MHz, which is the frequency Google did not license, but Verizon did. So the digital switchover uses the same frequencies, just digital signals instead of analog? I didn't realize that.]

OTHER HURDLES: While the frequencies used by television stations do have a long reach and easily penetrate walls, it is important to remember that these signals are one-way communications, often broadcast from giant antennas at megawatts of power. For gadgets and computers, a much lower transmission power would be used, greatly decreasing the range of the White Space devices. [So are we talking Wi-Fi-like ranges here or 3G-like ranges? Either way there would need to be lots of repeaters to establish coverage and that's not something that Google intends to do, I don't believe.] The National Association of Broadcasters has also questioned the ability of White Space devices to operate without interfering with television broadcasts. In addition, wireless microphones could be affected, although Google has proposed a "beacon" that could be utilized alongside existing wireless microphone equipment that would alert White Space devices not to operate on the same channel.

Update 11:30ET: Moved the first draft of this post after the jump. Am now going to start breaking out entire sections of the proposal here, with questions and commentary. Anything in [brackets] needs clarification.

Update 12:30ET: I'm going to take a break and look at some other stuff for a while. This is all starting to make sense, though, I think.

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Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• 5.1 System – Infinity TSS1200 5.1 surround sound system for pre-order at $500. Listed at Crutchfield for $1,200, but I don't know anything about the brand or quality. [Slickdeals]

• Headphones – Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones for $60. [Dealhack]

• Laptop – HP Pavilion dv2800t C2D 2.1GHz 14-inch laptop for $902, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Secret Farter – Remote controlled secret farter for $8, shipped. I just wanted to type that. [Dealnews]

• Carrying Case – Today's Woot! is a two-pack of Nike Sport Kit Carrying Case for MP3 Players for $6, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Retro Retail: St. Paul's Raymond Commodore Amiga

Happy Mutant Bryan Day took a trip to Raymond Commodore Amiga, a store in St. Paul that specializes in only one very specific line of computing products. Bryan shot this gallery of the store's charmingly cluttered beige interior.

Raymond Commodore Amiga Photoset [Flickr]

Below is a sponsored widget from Microsoft.

Charles Shopsin

Modern Mechanix Round-UP

First up today on Modern Mechanix we have this prediction of what the year 2008 will be like. Published in the November 1968 Mechanix Illustrated, this article, actually titled "40 Years in the Future" was part of MI's 40th anniversary issue and is full of predictions about the role of computers, domed cities, ultra-fast cars and ocean bottom resort hotels. We also looked at plans for another propeller driven monorail system, a scary 1936 article pitching J. Edgar Hoover's plan to fingerprint every U.S. citizen, a beautiful 1924 ad for ranger bicycles, a nifty looking pontoon fishing boat, a motorcycle driven by a car engine, and "proof" that the Loch Ness monster is just a whale.

This weekend we looked at plans for an atomic powered "Atoms for Peace" dirigible, a 1939 Bell Telephone ad inviting patrons to go take a tour of their local telephone facility, a roundup of antique motorcycles a typewriter designed for deaf typists, a crash proof lightning bug car, a race for telephone linemen, and a man who makes wooden silverware for arctic explorers. If you have a pair of those old red-blue 3D glasses hanging around you'll want to pull them out for this article about aerial topographical maps of America from WWII. Also, learn about the secrets of America's flying salesmen, special effects wizardry on the Ernie Kovac's show, how to change your skinny, pimply looks and a 1956 advertisement touting the first eight years of development of the transistor.

Joel Johnson

LifeLites eLite LED Kits for Light-Up LEGO Models

LifeLites produces a series of "eLite" LED kits designed to be incorporated into LEGO models. While they use wires, the LEDs are nestled inside small Technic pegs, making them relatively easy to hide inside models. A Basic kit can be used to simply power the lights, while the Advanced kit ($50 instead of $30) has 9 different modes including flash, fade, and flicker.

All the eLite kits require a 9-volt battery box that you'll have to buy directly from LEGO, so be sure to factor that into the price, too.

Company Page [Lifelites.com via Bros. Brick via Brickjournal]

Joel Johnson

Gundam Statue Erected at Shinjuku Train Station

A monument to beloved Japanese giant mecha series Gundam has been erected at the Kamiigusa train station in Shinjuku, Tokyo, the same neighborhood in which Gundam producer Sunrise, Inc. is located.

Gundam is most famous for the loyalty it displayed years ago, having been left at Kamiigusa station by its pilot, bound for war but sadly never returning. The mecha waited at the station every day for its master's face, becoming a friendly sight to commuters, before wearing down its main power core after 3,000 short years.

Full-size image [Yomiuri.co.jp via Alafista via Kotaku]

Joel Johnson

Chrysler to Offer In-Car Internet This Year

Image: Khalid Almasoud

Chrysler will start providing in-car internet access later this year, reports the Washington Post. It sounds like they'll be licensing some flavor of 3G cellular internet, then distributing the connection in the car via Wi-Fi. A monthly service fee would be required "initially," but it's not difficult to think that in the near future the cost of always-on internet could be baked in the price of the car itself. I'd pay another $1,000 or more to know that my car would always be a hotspot.

Chrysler Plans In-Car Web Access This Year [WashingtonPost.com]

Joel Johnson

LEXON Jet Clocks by Theo Williams

Nothing special about these clocks except clean lines, a easily parsed chunky electroluminescent LCD display, and a slightly baffling "Year" read-out that seems to indicate we're in the Age of Sleep. Which is fine with me. I'm not lazy—I'm observant!

The LEXON "Jet" clocks, designed by Theo Williams, are available in wall clock models as seen here, as well as a small clock/radio table-top version. Europe-only for the moment, it seems, available from French boutique Singulier for €45. C'est la gear.

Catalog Page [Singulier.com via Technabob]

Joel Johnson

Yellow Drum Machine Robot is Cute as a Button

The "Yellow Drum Machine" is a snazzy little hand-made robot which putters around, casting its two-camera head franticly for obstacles, then raps out a short beat on whatever it can put its sticks to. It then records its own beat, loops it, and begins to play along with its own rhythm. It's a one man robot band. It will do great for itself busking in the robot subways, especially if it can hook itself up with a troupe of robot breakdancers.

Yellow Drum Machine [Let's Make Robots!] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in, except for Gord, because he's a big jerk. [Just kidding <3])

Joel Johnson

Separated at Birth: Sierra's "ImagiNation Network" and "Mytopia"

A new online casual gaming network called "Mytopia" has cribbed heavily from the classic ImagiNation Network (née The Sierra Network), one of the first dial-in multiplayer graphical game spaces. The town interface, as Coding Horror points out, looks like a graphical refresh of the old VGA graphics front door of INN. Like INN, Mytopia allows players to play different types of card and parlor games.

But if you'd rather re-experience the original (without the per-minute access fees), the ImagiNation Revival project has recreated the server-side software. Rather than recreating the client software, however, you can just run the old software in DOSbox, the oh-so-lovely DOS emulator for Windows and OS X.

Al Lowe, probably best known at Sierra online for creating the Leisure Suit Larry games, also worked extensively on the original TSN/INN development, including one of the first avatar creation engines.

INN eventually landed in the hands of AOL, who quickly scuttled the whole operation.

It's clear that Mytopia is making an allusion to the ImagiNation Network on purpose, but I can't see the harm in it. If anything, they're acknowledging their roots, which is more than be said for most online gaming companies these days who act like putting pinochle on a computer is an idea that sprung forth sui generis from the fecund mind of a 22-year-old Ruby programmer.

The Sierra Network II [Coding Horror]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Videogame – LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Playstation 3 for sale for $30, shipped. That's about $18 off. [Slickdeals]

• Headphones – Grado Labs SR80 Headphones + $15 iTunes card for $95, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Camera – Today's Woot! is the Kodak V1003 10 Megapixel Digital Camera for $95, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Sunday Video Sifter: Onomatopœiac Kitchen Solidarity Edition

Today's Sunday Sifter holds futuristic fashion predictions from the 1930s, a disturbing commercial for "Lionel Kiddie City" toy store and its selection of noisy videogames, two industrial films (in one 'tube) from the '50s showcasing a Frigidare kitchen of the future that provokes a snappy dance number, and a story about Solidarity TV, a group of Polish astronomers who in 1985 built their own TV transmission equipment and superimposed political messages over official state TV broadcasts.

Happy Easter, if you observe, and happy lazy Sunday if you do not!